THE NEW YORKER THE- CURJtE-NT CINE-MA The Making of Oklahoma-That Haddock Family-Grim and Filmic T HERE have been so many West- ern pictures since "The Covered Wagon" and so many of them have shown us merely the tiffs of alnor- ous young people in the vehicles of the period, with an occasional flash of wild and picturesque landscape, that we hardly expect much more now froln the subject. "Cim- " h arran, owever, the new movie at the Globe, is quite a diff eren t aff air. I t is more than picturesque, for one thing; though it has that quality too, for it contrives to instill in its spectators an interest in the gradual growth of that great tract of land which from sheer wilderness becomes eventually the State of Oklaholna, a state to be venerated in our city, as some of our richest hosts, made millionaires by the oil that spurted forth one day in the dinginess of their shacks' backyards, have come froln it. In spite of this last sentimental reflec- tion, I fear that I have already fright- ened away potential spectators with the suggestion that this is an educational film. This is, 'Of course, not strictly the case; the movie is based, after all, on Edna Ferber's novel. Those educational items to be glean- ed from it are presented with such gusto and gaiety and drama that they are possibly Inore exciting than the story itself. The picture begins with the wild huzzas and hilarity of the land-run of 1889, when the government opooed up that strip of land known as the Cherokee Settlement; and that first view of the dash for land, the tumbling mass of humanity scurrying for prop- erty, helter-skelter in any kind of wagon that they could lay hands on, is one of the liveliest stretches of film to be seen about town. Great care, I feel, has been taken with the whole produc- tion, especially in the historical details, such as the style of the first frame house, the alterations in the fashions of the women's clothes, in the fur- nishings of the houses as tÎ1ne goes on, and In the appearance of the streets. All this is as good in its way as anything that has come out of Hollywood, and because of this expertness the film gains especial value. T HE story itself, though, is not to be disregarded. As you may recall L'oln the book, it deals with a Inan of gallant braggadocio, with possibly a somewhat dubious past but with good intentions at the time, who has married a fragile girl of Wichita. In the past he wandered, for what reasons we know not, about the wastelands of Cimarron, or what was to becolne the northern regions of Oklaholna, and at the tÎ1ne of the land-rush he per- suades his bride to lea ve the elegancies of Wichita. Richard Dix is certainly at his best in this rôle, with a daring curl in his hair, with a swagger, with a cOInpetence in the probielns of the pioneer, very clearly the type, half bandit, half zealot, which did much to make our West. The episodes follow those in the book more or less closely. There is the prayer meeting ending in gunfire and there are the various little social details of the time, all of which are greatl}T accentuated by the humor Edna May Oliver gives the rôle of Mrs. Tracy Wyatt. The episode of Dixie Lee (played by Estelle Taylor) is treat- ed with the Cranford daintiness which eInbellished it in the novel. I t is only after the in terInission, for this is a full evening's picture with an intermission of ten minutes, that there are definitely sagging InOlnents in the film. The grand clÎ1nax when Sabra Cravat (Irene Dunne), deserted by her husband but having carried on his work as editor of the local paper, is honored as a Congresswolnan is a little trying. It is difficult to Inake a hero- ine, even a Lorna Doone, really glaIn- orous after she becolnes a Congress- WOlnan. Nor is the finale handled with Inuch tact. It is cursory, abrupt, especially after the discretion of the pre- ceding parts of the picture. " F INN AND HATTIE" (froln Donald Ogden Stewart's "Mr. and Mrs. Haddock Abroad") is funny chiefly be- cause of the behavior of the children, Jackie Se,arl and itzi Green, and be- cause too of the languors of ZaSu Pi tts as Mrs. Haddock. Scnne of the Stew- art episodes are still in the picture, such, especially, as the street-cleaner titbit, that lovely and lyrical concept of the well-known hUInorist. However, as is the way with movies, the picture wan- 67 >/ ,-:': "." . >-,1:'.1' .. ,,\:1{' \' "" ;:,: ; ,; ' :'i ::.. --.:.r.; â :"!1:t :. ,:, . ,-, ...... '- -....-, ....' .... .... $t. , .. .................. . " '- ......... :, , -.... SPRfNG. . . ONLY A FEW HOURS AWAY! a I/Yr4 /7 / f--;/ / , It I/Þ HAVANA SERVICE . . . 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THE TROPICAL SPRING CRUISE CALEDONIA -12 DAYS. $140 UP.FROM BOSTON APR. 15 TO APR. 29 · FROM N. Y. APR. 16 TO APR. 28 Sail south to meet the Spring at Bermuda · · · thence to Nassau and Havana. 12 days, $140 up. HAVE YOU JOINED THE CUNARD TRAVEL CLUB 7 MEMBERSHIP $1.00.. . INQUIRE FOR DETAILS Carry your funds in Cunard Traveller's Cheques Send for' descriptive literature to your local agent Or' 25 Broadway, New York CUN R